Comments on: Living on the cheap in Tokyo http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/ Photos, Stories and articles on East Asia Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:54:22 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Jade Oc http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-207247 Jade Oc Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:14:33 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-207247 Actually to really save time (and money) I'd just go to Jusco once every few days and get stuff I could throw in the microwave.... Actually to really save time (and money) I’d just go to Jusco once every few days and get stuff I could throw in the microwave….

]]> By: M-Bone http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-207155 M-Bone Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:34:26 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-207155 Bryce - Normally, I'd agree. However, there was that time I went to Japan to do some research, stayed with a friend, and only had about 100,000 yen for three months. Had to live on the cheap. Jade - I agree that you need calories in the afternoon. However, when I'm on the road, I usually end up eating dinner at about 4 for the early energy boost. An alternative to the lunchtime onigiri would be banging down a few McDonald's burgers (no fries, no drink) which have ranged from 80-120 yen in recent years. Joe has a good idea (dosen't really apply to me because my wife does most of the cooking). If I was eating out to save time while doing research or something I'd probably go for the following menu - Breakfast - - McDonald's breakfast (if you just have to have pancakes) is one of the easier to find reliable hot options (if you don't dig grilled fish before 9 that is). 380 yen. - Jam pan is still a decent choice (120 yen), with orange juice (120 yen). - I usually just end up eating cereal at home and grab an early lunch before the rush. Can even do this in a hotel if you need to. Lunch - - Teishoku somewhere. You can switch it up and still not pay more than 1000 yen. Alternatively, you can go to a family restaurant. Some of them (Joyfull) have lunch sets with a drink bar for about 600 yen. Dinner - - Ramen for junkfood (600 yen) and some gyoza (250 yen) - Kaitenzushi is great, you can eat exactly enough to fill you up (1000 or more) - Go to a shokudo for saba no shioyaki, rice, miso, tamago yaki, etc. (probably about 800). You can enjoy eating out for 2000 yen a day (2500-3000 is better). If that powers your production (or keeps you going on the road) it is a small price to pay. Bryce – Normally, I’d agree. However, there was that time I went to Japan to do some research, stayed with a friend, and only had about 100,000 yen for three months. Had to live on the cheap.

Jade – I agree that you need calories in the afternoon. However, when I’m on the road, I usually end up eating dinner at about 4 for the early energy boost.

An alternative to the lunchtime onigiri would be banging down a few McDonald’s burgers (no fries, no drink) which have ranged from 80-120 yen in recent years.

Joe has a good idea (dosen’t really apply to me because my wife does most of the cooking). If I was eating out to save time while doing research or something I’d probably go for the following menu –
Breakfast – – McDonald’s breakfast (if you just have to have pancakes) is one of the easier to find reliable hot options (if you don’t dig grilled fish before 9 that is). 380 yen. – Jam pan is still a decent choice (120 yen), with orange juice (120 yen). – I usually just end up eating cereal at home and grab an early lunch before the rush. Can even do this in a hotel if you need to.

Lunch – – Teishoku somewhere. You can switch it up and still not pay more than 1000 yen. Alternatively, you can go to a family restaurant. Some of them (Joyfull) have lunch sets with a drink bar for about 600 yen.

Dinner – – Ramen for junkfood (600 yen) and some gyoza (250 yen) – Kaitenzushi is great, you can eat exactly enough to fill you up (1000 or more) – Go to a shokudo for saba no shioyaki, rice, miso, tamago yaki, etc. (probably about 800).

You can enjoy eating out for 2000 yen a day (2500-3000 is better). If that powers your production (or keeps you going on the road) it is a small price to pay.

]]> By: Joe http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-207076 Joe Tue, 10 Apr 2007 05:20:30 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-207076 Cooking is kind of therapeutic, but for freelancers like us it almost makes more sense to use the time we would otherwise spend cooking to make money (whether it's writing, translating or whatever) to pay a skilled person to cook our food for us. This is not the case in Philadelphia, where everyone who will cook your food for under $15 will only do it with hyper-saturated baby seal oil and "scrapple," but in Tokyo, where every tenchou and their sister can cook really well, it makes much more sense, and you'll feel the benefits in your belly. I would get into a discussion of commuting with platform tickets at this point, but the bar examiners might be reading this. (Hi, guys!) Cooking is kind of therapeutic, but for freelancers like us it almost makes more sense to use the time we would otherwise spend cooking to make money (whether it’s writing, translating or whatever) to pay a skilled person to cook our food for us. This is not the case in Philadelphia, where everyone who will cook your food for under $15 will only do it with hyper-saturated baby seal oil and “scrapple,” but in Tokyo, where every tenchou and their sister can cook really well, it makes much more sense, and you’ll feel the benefits in your belly.

I would get into a discussion of commuting with platform tickets at this point, but the bar examiners might be reading this. (Hi, guys!)

]]> By: Jade Oc http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-207072 Jade Oc Tue, 10 Apr 2007 05:11:06 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-207072 Sure there are reasons to live cheap. You want to save money for example. Travel the world, perhaps. Save for post-expat life, when your average Nova slave will be lucky to get minimum wage, etc. Don't agree with Adamu's diet. Though if you live in the country there are a ton of edible grasses and plants. However if you need to skip a meal, skip dinner: your body needs few calories to sleep, after all. For that reason I'd swap around M-Bone's menu, and have the ramen for lunch, or even breakfast ideally. Sure there are reasons to live cheap. You want to save money for example. Travel the world, perhaps. Save for post-expat life, when your average Nova slave will be lucky to get minimum wage, etc.

Don’t agree with Adamu’s diet. Though if you live in the country there are a ton of edible grasses and plants. However if you need to skip a meal, skip dinner: your body needs few calories to sleep, after all. For that reason I’d swap around M-Bone’s menu, and have the ramen for lunch, or even breakfast ideally.

]]> By: Bryce http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-206942 Bryce Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:42:12 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-206942 I hate to be cynical, but given that a standard English teaching job pays *at least* 250,000 yen, and employment abounds, is there really any reason to live cheap in Tokyo? Just don't go out drinking every night and get a hussy in to cook you dinner a couple of nights a week and you're set. I hate to be cynical, but given that a standard English teaching job pays at least 250,000 yen, and employment abounds, is there really any reason to live cheap in Tokyo? Just don’t go out drinking every night and get a hussy in to cook you dinner a couple of nights a week and you’re set.

]]> By: Adamu http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-206918 Adamu Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:19:34 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-206918 You guys are being wimps. You need to go for the North Korean diet (at least what I call it) to really eat cheaply. The main way to save money is to get stuff at the supermarket and cook it yourself. Get the cheapest rice available (I don't know maybe 10kg for 1000yen), a bunch of natto, a bulk box of 'chicken ramen' (the kind in the plastic bag not cups), and cheap vegetables and discount chicken or something. Your diet should be 1) natto for breakfast; 2) Skip lunch (it is for the weak, but if you need something eat a chicken ramen), 3) stir fry with rice for dinner. Mix things up a bit with salady vegetables and miso soup (made from miso/wakame/dashi, NOT the ripoff instant kind) to stay healthy. I have never actually stuck to this diet precisely because I have no discipline but something like that. Basically what I'm saying is live the spartan Japanese lifestyle and you will prosper. You guys are being wimps. You need to go for the North Korean diet (at least what I call it) to really eat cheaply. The main way to save money is to get stuff at the supermarket and cook it yourself. Get the cheapest rice available (I don’t know maybe 10kg for 1000yen), a bunch of natto, a bulk box of ‘chicken ramen’ (the kind in the plastic bag not cups), and cheap vegetables and discount chicken or something. Your diet should be 1) natto for breakfast; 2) Skip lunch (it is for the weak, but if you need something eat a chicken ramen), 3) stir fry with rice for dinner. Mix things up a bit with salady vegetables and miso soup (made from miso/wakame/dashi, NOT the ripoff instant kind) to stay healthy. I have never actually stuck to this diet precisely because I have no discipline but something like that. Basically what I’m saying is live the spartan Japanese lifestyle and you will prosper.

]]> By: M-Bone http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-206869 M-Bone Mon, 09 Apr 2007 13:51:57 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-206869 The ramen-ya rated as the best in the country in places like Fukuoka / Hakata, Sapporo, Kumamoto, etc. all charge about 600-700 for regular "ramen". Even in Tokyo, where things like that tend to be 100-200 yen more, its not like 600 yen ramen is going to be junk if you find the right place. Living really cheap while traveling to a big city in Japan - Breakfast - Jam-pan (120yen) Lunch - 2 onigiri (240yen) Dinner - ramen (600yen) Cup ramen if you are starving later (100 yen) May not be that healthy but if you eat like this and log 10-15 km walking around, you will probably drop 1-2 kg a week. The ramen-ya rated as the best in the country in places like Fukuoka / Hakata, Sapporo, Kumamoto, etc. all charge about 600-700 for regular “ramen”. Even in Tokyo, where things like that tend to be 100-200 yen more, its not like 600 yen ramen is going to be junk if you find the right place.

Living really cheap while traveling to a big city in Japan –
Breakfast – Jam-pan (120yen)
Lunch – 2 onigiri (240yen)
Dinner – ramen (600yen)
Cup ramen if you are starving later (100 yen)

May not be that healthy but if you eat like this and log 10-15 km walking around, you will probably drop 1-2 kg a week.

]]> By: Curzon http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-206795 Curzon Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:05:16 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-206795 Shannon: even better, buy a BICYCLE! Shannon: even better, buy a BICYCLE!

]]> By: Jade Oc http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-206627 Jade Oc Mon, 09 Apr 2007 04:09:01 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-206627 Haven't seen those "Men's Day" prices. Women's Day, yes. Movie Appreciation Day (the first of each month) is good, and there was also the special Foreign Student Price (same as geriatrics). There is some damn good ramen out there, though you have to know where to look. Not sure about Tokyo ramen on the whole actually, but in Japan as a whole I'd take a good bowl of ramen over pretty much anything else you can get for under 600 yen. There is no local shoutengai where I live, so that really isn't an option. And gaijin on a megabudget don't have the luxury of caring about quality product (though I have no complaints against Sukiya. Don't like Yoshinoya though). For the price of one teishoku you can have lunch AND dinner. And save enough money to go to Thailand to do whatever one does in Thailand. Haven’t seen those “Men’s Day” prices. Women’s Day, yes. Movie Appreciation Day (the first of each month) is good, and there was also the special Foreign Student Price (same as geriatrics).

There is some damn good ramen out there, though you have to know where to look. Not sure about Tokyo ramen on the whole actually, but in Japan as a whole I’d take a good bowl of ramen over pretty much anything else you can get for under 600 yen. There is no local shoutengai where I live, so that really isn’t an option.

And gaijin on a megabudget don’t have the luxury of caring about quality product (though I have no complaints against Sukiya. Don’t like Yoshinoya though). For the price of one teishoku you can have lunch AND dinner. And save enough money to go to Thailand to do whatever one does in Thailand.

]]> By: Shannon Parker http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/comment-page-1/#comment-206580 Shannon Parker Mon, 09 Apr 2007 02:28:57 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/04/04/living-on-the-cheap-in-tokyo/#comment-206580 I'll chime in on the scooter thing. When I have to ride the trains (during the rainy season, for example), I spend close to ¥5000/week. My scooter costs less than ¥1000 per week in gas. You also get the added benefit of learning the city better. ¥400-¥600 ramen? I'd rather pay another 300 for something palatable. Also, though places like sukiya and yoshinoya are good deals, the quality of the product is pretty low. I think they're ok for a quick bite after a night of getting soused, but would never darken their doors for (a presumably sober) lunch. If I'm out and about I often look for teishoku restaurants. They tend to serve lunch for about ¥800 and you get some kind of meat or (more often) fish, miso soup, rice, and pickles. A great deal. Food in general can be a big expense. I live fairly far out of the center of the city (Soshigaya Okura), and the food prices are considerably lower than more central areas. Rather than patronize the big box supermarkets, I hit up the local vegetable place, meat place, and fish place, and in addition to supporting local business I save a lot (about 20%) on most items. I’ll chime in on the scooter thing. When I have to ride the trains (during the rainy season, for example), I spend close to ¥5000/week. My scooter costs less than ¥1000 per week in gas. You also get the added benefit of learning the city better.

¥400-¥600 ramen? I’d rather pay another 300 for something palatable. Also, though places like sukiya and yoshinoya are good deals, the quality of the product is pretty low. I think they’re ok for a quick bite after a night of getting soused, but would never darken their doors for (a presumably sober) lunch. If I’m out and about I often look for teishoku restaurants. They tend to serve lunch for about ¥800 and you get some kind of meat or (more often) fish, miso soup, rice, and pickles. A great deal.

Food in general can be a big expense. I live fairly far out of the center of the city (Soshigaya Okura), and the food prices are considerably lower than more central areas. Rather than patronize the big box supermarkets, I hit up the local vegetable place, meat place, and fish place, and in addition to supporting local business I save a lot (about 20%) on most items.

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